Hi all

I have a Yamaha 4-stroke 9.9 outboard that I have to remove from my cat for servicing. As my dinghy is kinda small, I'll have to row it ashore with the motor head down in the bottom of the dinghy and the prop end up on the back seat, prop up (just like it sits mounted on the boat but with the prop much higher).

I'm not worried about weight distribution, more worried about oil and stuff running the wrong way due to the motor being effectively upside down. I have a memory of motors supposed to only be stored in certain orientations etc.

So what say you, is this an issue? Thanks in advance...

I don't think this is a good idea. The manual states that you should only like the outboard down on one side (can't remember which). I would not like to get oil into the wrong spots.

My preferred way for a normal service is to just take the carby off and take that home. Pull it apart, or just clean it up. Be careful doing this. I stripped the screw slot out of my idle jet on that outboard. In the end I just cleaned the jet in situ but it means I have a jet I can't remove. All that being said, the thing runs beautifully with a carby clean, best it ever has and start like a dream now. That is the first time in lots of carbys that anything went wrong. You can grind down a screwdriver to fit the slot exactly. The jets are brass and soft but you don't really have to remove them. Using compressed air is fine for almost all jet cleaning in situ. Changing the oil is done fine with a pump through the dipsitck for removal. So unless you need to do the timing, valve clearances or timing belt you don't have to pull it off. New plugs too and that is what most service places will do.

Don't say you can't be bothered cleaning the carby. It is a really interesting thing to do and Dangar Stu has some excellent videos on doing it. You learn a skill and it helps when away from services. Plus, it takes much less time to clean a carby than take the outboard to a service spot, wait for them to fix it and then work to pay them for it. DIY in about half an hour in the end.

The oil may be able to get into the cylinders and other places through open valves if you have it leg up. I would be much more worried about any salt water from the leg being run getting into the cylinders through an open exhaust valve. That could be really nasty so keep the leg dry - don't put it in the water cause some salt water can get up the exhaust and into the cylinders through an exhaust port. If you really have to go leg up, you could remove the oil beforehand through the dipstick. You will remove it anyway for a service. But keep the leg dry.

Yamaha recommend draining the oil before transporting.

Bugger, yeah I thought that was the case.

Unfortunately I think the gearbox is going due to salt corrosion and not much use, so I definitely think it has to come off the boat for a professional look.

I have an air cooled Honda 2.2hp 4 stroke. Every time I transport it in any orientation bar upright, it leaks oil all over the place. There's no way I would put it in the car. It goes in the ute tray and in the Lazarette when sailing. Always makes a bloody mess, so I wrap it up in plastic and have clean rags available to wipe up and leakage.

My Suzuki 6 four stroke is pretty good for transporting. Doesn't leak oil or fuel when transporting in car and can be laid on either side or on back.
As with other brands a big no no transporting upside down.

Definitely Deadly if tipped !
? Borrow bigger dinghy/tinny ? Jetty ?
Had Walker Bay 8 = dangerous - now have 10ft Al. Cartopper,which is stable,and can carry,but leave it on the mooring.
Mason

Good luck with servicing the carby, you may get lucky and it comes apart cleanly but they have a bad reputation, I've got 2, yamaha 9.9 high thrust outboards, 1 carby came apart ok the other not so good as jet was stuck which is very common on these, I couldn't get parts or a new carby from Yamaha, this was in 2021 so may be available now but ended up getting 2 chinese copy carbies for them.

I had problems with my Mariner 15hp 4-stroke when I first bought my current boat. I removed the carby, bought a carby kit for it and purchased an ultrasonic cleaner from Altronics. Strip the carby, place all the components into the bath and Ultrasonically clean it a couple of times to loosen up the crap in the galleries.

The US cleaner is handy for cleaning all sorts of stuff so it can be useful for more than just a carby clean. It'll be cheaper than taking it to the mechanics.

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Jethrow said..
Bugger, yeah I thought that was the case.

Unfortunately I think the gearbox is going due to salt corrosion and not much use, so I definitely think it has to come off the boat for a professional look.

Why do you think the gearbox is dodgy. My 9.9 was shifting badly because the upper mount of the gear shift would rise up. In the end I cable tied it down and now it shifts really well. Took me a year to work it out.
You can clean a carby without pulling jets out. Pull the bowl and needle valve out and shoot cleaner everywhere. Then also clean with air. Works well

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ActionSportsWA said..
I had problems with my Mariner 15hp 4-stroke when I first bought my current boat. I removed the carby, bought a carby kit for it and purchased an ultrasonic cleaner from Altronics. Strip the carby, place all the components into the bath and Ultrasonically clean it a couple of times to loosen up the crap in the galleries.

The US cleaner is handy for cleaning all sorts of stuff so it can be useful for more than just a carby clean. It'll be cheaper than taking it to the mechanics.

Hey, I've been looking at getting one of these too, but most advice comes from Americans. Been trying to find out what you need to buy for the fluid - they name a bunch of brands you can't get here, or rabbit on about different types of water... What do you use?